COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau set up a dedicated E-government Coordination Office in August.
During the year, major initiatives were implemented successfully to promote paperless operation within the Government. All bureaux and departments are now connected to a stable, reliable and resilient broadband government communication network. A programme has begun to more than double the number of officers connected to this network by mid-2003. Various projects have been implemented to enhance the government IT infrastructure and a system for the exchange of internal confidential mail. With the aim of having more internal government business conducted on-line, systems have been launched for electronic leave application and processing, submission of funding applications for computerisation projects and preparation of the annual estimates, either on a pilot or phased basis. All these will reduce processing time and improve responsiveness in the delivery of public services.
In 2000-2001, the Government spent $2.47 billion on IT. Bureaux and departments are encouraged to examine their longer term computerisation requirements and formulate information systems strategy or IT plans to support their long-term needs. By the end of the year, 44 bureaux and departments had such strategies or plans in place.
Electronic Service Delivery
To bring IT into the daily life of the community, the Government launched the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme. The scheme aims to provide efficient and high quality public services to the community on-line. Services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a customer-centric approach instead of the conventional department-based format. The public can access ESD services through a wide range of delivery channels including personal computers with Internet connection, public computer facilities and ESD kiosks installed throughout the HKSAR. Services provided through mobile phones/devices will be launched in 2002. The scheme acts as a catalyst to pump-prime the development of e-business in Hong Kong.
In 2001, the Government launched a number of ESD services that are closely related to the daily life of the public, such as booking of marriage dates, purchase of government publications, on-line dissemination of census and statistical data, and registration to sit for public examinations. More than 120 types of on-line public services from more than 40 government departments and agencies are available at the ESD web site.
During the year, the ESD web site attracted over 307 million hits and generated some 1.15 million transactions. The ESD web site won the 2001 Stockholm Challenge Award a major international annual IT award, organised by the City of Stockholm, Sweden. The award demonstrated Hong Kong's competitive position as a pioneer in the development of E-government, and reinforced its image as a leading digital city in the globally connected world.
IT Manpower
To ensure Hong Kong's successful transformation into an information economy, it is important to build up a competent IT workforce. The Government is committed to providing adequate and quality IT manpower to meet the demand in the community.
379